WHAT I’M WATCHING
To stay motivated on the treadmill, I take advantage of the offerings on streaming Netflix. Over the years, I watched the entire seven seasons of West Wing (that one on DVD), got hooked on a somewhat hokey Australian series about two long lost sisters running a sheep farm, was caught up in the dirty dealings in House of Cards, and then endured endless surgeries and ruptured relationships on Grey’s Anatomy.
More recently, I had fun with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie. The episodes were too short (only about 30 minutes) for my ideal treadmill time and the language salty, but these women are marvelous together.
Now, thanks to a recommendation from one of my sisters, I’m thoroughly immersed in historic Toronto in Murdoch Mysteries. The first two episodes were a bit slow, but then it picked up. Set just before 1900, the series brings in historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Buffalo Bill Cody, who add unexpected twists to the murders to be solved. Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) is dark, almost impishly handsome and always impeccably dressed. He is an emotionally reserved man of science who gets around, always in suit and tie and homburg, on his bicycle. And he is always aided in his investigations by the lovely pathologist, Dr. Julie Ogden. There is some sly humor and an ongoing romantic tension between the detective and the doctor that adds to the cleverness and creativity of this show. I should note that I am currently in season 2 and there are at least eight seasons in all.
I even occasionally watch TV when I’m not exercising. I enjoyed the original Poldark on Masterpiece Theatre in the 1970’s, so much so that I bought the DVDs to re-watch it, but never did. Now I’m getting re-acquainted with Ross Poldark and Demelza and the stunning Cornwall landscape in the new version premiering, again, on Masterpiece. The first episode just aired so there’s lots more to come.
WHAT I’M READING
I’m not quite sure what to make of the novel I just finished. Written in Spanish and translated, The Heart Has Its Reasons by Maria Duenas, is set mostly in California in the fictional town and college, Saint Cecilia. The main character is a Spanish professor separated from her husband who comes to the San Francisco area on a fellowship.
It’s an academic novel, a novel about one professor’s research into another scholar’s legacy, and about second chances in life. Blanca is trying to find a new way forward while trawling her way through a famous professor’s papers to uncover his somewhat mysterious last work. She develops friendships with two male colleagues, but at points I found the tone overly didactic. I got a brief history of the California missions along with background on Spain before and right after the Spanish Civil War. For me, Blanca was not well fleshed out and the two men also seemed somewhat flat. Much is stated about these characters rather than portrayed through their words or actions. Nonetheless, the book was a success in Spain.
